aged to chug beers on stage and things get incredibly rowdy (laughs).” In the 2012 Reader’s Choice Awards, Campus Activities Magazine® had an interesting and very diverse field for our Best Major Performer category. Not surprisingly, the artist most firmly in the mainstream pulled out the Award, but not without a battle ensuing for the lead, and not without earning a great reputation in the market.
4,033 .edus voted in this category, with Ke$ha pulling ahead of Aziz Ansari in just the last couple of weeks, winning with 1,210 votes or 30% of the total to Aziz’s 24%. She is currently in the studio, but took time out to speak with us to thank the readers of CAM in this exclusive interview. We’re limited by space here, so look for a possible follow up story this fall.
Ke$ha isn’t some out of touch star either, she’s an artist of the people. Humble, respectful (“I believe everyone should be treated with respect, from ticket taker to rock star,”) down to earth and in the trenches. “I had never been to a frat party, so one night after a campus show the band decided to crash one. We decided I needed to have a real college experience, and that was the closest we could get at the time. It took about 10 seconds to figure out who we were, I had the entire entourage of dancers and band with me. It was tons of fun, everybody was playing ping pong beer games, which is definitely a college phenomenon and fascinating (laughs). I noticed everyone was very competitive and took it really seriously.”
Apparently she was very well-received by our readers, and no matter what perceptions of a star this big may be, she apparently puts on an incredible show and is great to work with. “The best campus show I have ever seen!” -Steve Pagios, Quinnipiac University “She's amazing for the college market. She gives the students what they want...to be entertained.” -wilsonb6@winthrop.edu
Words directly from the voters. The campus market has been apart of Ke$ha’s formula for success and is by all counts an amazing artist to work with both on and off stage. “I have played many campus shows, because being around campuses is really fun. I never went to college, so it’s always really fun to play campus shows.” She is certainly one of the most popular artists among the college demographic, and Ke$ha says the fit goes two ways. “That age group definitely relates to my music and seems to gravitate toward it, but I am drawn to them as well. Many of my public shows end up being for somewhat younger audiences, so I have to tone things down to a certain exten. But when I play campus shows I am always encourwww.campusactivitiesmagazine.com
The widespread feedback about a Ke$ha concert is that it is not just a show, but truly an event. “I just grew up on southern rock n’ roll and going to shitty punk shows in little houses. I try to blend that with some of the arena shows that I have seen, and obviously pop music. I think I come out with an interesting blend of many different genres musically, and then performance-wise it’s just a mega party for everyone there. I grew up watching Van Halen and The Beastie Boys and knew that was the kind of energy I wanted to capture on stage and combine it with dance music. There is a lot of wild, irreverent energy happening all at once. I have a kick ass band, amazing dancers and then of course I myself just go completely ape shit every night. The thing I find to be different about my show than many of the
other shows I have seen is that my performance is not entirely choreographed. It is different every night and occasionally you will find me crowd surfing or jumping off of some rigging or pulling people on stage. You just never know, it’s different every night and just depends on what kind of mood you catch me in, and of course the venue and crowd.”
We’ve got more from Ke$ha, if you’re interested in seeing an extended version of this story on our website, or possibly in the print edition this fall, let us know in this article’s Facebook comment box on our website (and like our story) at www.campusactmag.com. For now, Ke$ha has a special message to our readers, the campus market. “I just want to say thank you first of all to anyone who took the time out to go vote for me. It is really amazing to win an award from people that are not only close to me in age, but also in spirit. I feel like I make music for the average college goer that works hard, but also wants to play hard on the weekends. That is our culture’s whole philosophy. I just want to say thank you to everyone who is listening to my music working through the week and partying to it on the weekends, playing beer pong (laughs).
“I will continue to be playing college shows, I am not going to forget about my fans, ever, or the people who got me to where I am now. I know that many them are in college, so tell them all I love them very much, thank you, keep working hard and party harder!” “Sells out every time.” -coope195@msu.edu
“Ton of albums. I swear almost every night someone is listening to Kesha in my Residence Hall.” -lmissik@bw.edu To book Ke$ha, give Adam Tobey at Concert Ideas a call at 800.836.2000 or adam@concertideas.com RUNNER-UP: AzIz ANSARI
Aziz Ansari first came to audiences attention on MTV’s hit sketch comedy series, “Human Giant.” He was recently seen starring in the action comedy 30 Minutes or Less and wrapping up a standup tour called the “Dangerously Delicious Tour.” Ansari is currently starring in the NBC series, “Parks and Recreation.”
jknobbe@apa-agency.com
CAMPUS ACTIVITIES MAGAzINE®, APRIL 2012, 27